Life

When Choosing A Gift Has You Stumped

Tami Gomez
9 Dec 2014
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What to get, what to get…? So many options, but nothing seems right. Finding Christmas gifts is sometimes the hardest part of Christmas, especially when looking for someone important to you who seems to have everything he wants or needs. However difficult it may seem to be, it is not impossible. Before we continue, it’s important to realize that your gift does not have to fill a void in any person’s life; it’s just a Christmas present. The job of void-filling is the Holy Spirit’s, not yours. If this person already has everything he needs, then your gift ought to […]

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The Mind Manual – How a Life Skills Program is Changing Lives

Keisha McDonnough Virtue
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There is a song titled, “Wounds in the Way” that is particularly haunting, describing the damage and hurt many women and men hold on to from their childhood. An especially poignant line goes: “As time passes by, they begin to multiply…. adding up secretly, like the rings of an old oak tree…” So many of us have gone through devastating hurt and struggle at some point in our lives, even from our formative years. And yet, instead of dealing with those crises and the problems that result from them, we often sweep them under the mat, ignore them, even try […]

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Holiday Blues

Paula Masters
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holiday blues

For some of us Christmas represents one of the most heart-wrenching times of year. As it approaches there is often impending feeling of dread. The lights and jolly songs that fill the streets only increase the ache that reverberates in our hearts. Whether it is the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, difficult childhood memories, complicated family relationships, empty nest, loneliness or anything else, Christmas can bring on an overwhelming sense of sadness. The fact that the marketing world capitalizes on Christmas plays a big part in the anguish that some experience. Everything being perfectly presented, […]

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Will the Real St. Nicholas Please Stand Up?

Penni Bulten
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In America, St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) is seen as a jolly, fat, bearded man, who drives a sleigh pulled by reindeer. But this is a caricature, coming from illustrations for Harper’s Illustrated Weekly in 1869, done by Thomas Nast. This art was a continuation of the chubby, plump “jolly old elf” image in the poem “The Night Before Christmas.” (This depiction is normally attributed to Clement C. Moore, professor of Biblical Languages at New York’s Episcopal General Theological Seminary. However, Don Foster’s book Author Unknown suggests that Henry Livingston, a patriot and author of humor and children’s verse, actually […]

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Mary – A Woman Wrapped in Mystery

Maritza Cosano
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Like a woman covered in veils, Mary is a woman wrapped in mystery. We are left to guess about her looks, her life with Joseph and how she mothered Jesus. She was an ordinary person. And in many ways, just like us. She believed the angel Gabriel. And yet, how much did she know about the prophesied virgin birth when only the boys of her time were schooled in Scripture? Even though she couldn’t understand the sense of God’s power shadowing over her, the words that spilled from her mouth must have pleased God.  Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s […]

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Christmas Near the Beach

Gabriella Morris
6 Dec 2014
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Christmas Near The Beach, a South Florida-style celebration, returns to the Arts Park at Young Circle in Hollywood on Saturday, December 13 from 4 to 9 p.m. With more than 5,000 people in attendance last year, the free event will feature bands, dancers, singers, vendors, a classic car show and a free photo with St. Nick at his Beach House.  Now in its 8th year, Christmas Near The Beach is a production of Expressions of Joy, a Christian dance academy serving Broward and Palm Beach counties. Their objective is to boldly share the good news of the gospel in a […]

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H. Wayne Huizenga, Jr. Discovers True Wealth

Shelly Pond
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jr

“Pop has accomplished incredible things,” said H. Wayne Huizenga, Jr., the son of local businessman Harry Wayne Huizenga, who grew Waste Management, Inc., Blockbuster Video and AutoNation into successful companies and previously owned the Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers and Florida Marlins teams. “But when they started, they were so poor that Pop sold his pick-up truck to buy Mom’s engagement ring,” said Huizenga, Jr. The early days “My father bought an old garbage truck from an African American man. He would pick up garbage all morning and go back out in the afternoon to sell the business. He parked the […]

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Enjoy a Healthy Life Balance

Steve Davis
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We usually associate the Christmas season with words like joy and peace, giving and receiving, happy and merry. Other choice words could be stressful and tiring, packed and rushed, expensive and…perhaps…Aaaaahhhhh! What are the best practices to enjoy a healthy life balance? Actually, our lives are an outward expression of inward living. Jesus’ career assignment was to provide us with a new “power-full” way of inner living that brings amazing order and peace, free from anxiety and chaos. In our Adult Development courses at Trinity International University, we illustrate a healthy life balance with a picture of a tree and […]

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The In-laws Who Stole Christmas

Patricia Hartman
5 Dec 2014
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‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all thro’ the house Not a couple was merry, not even one spouse.   The stockings hand quilted by Grandma with care, Were replaced by Dad’s mom with new store-bought pairs.   The children played video games all snug in the den, In hopes that Mom and Dad would get it together again.   I, in the kitchen, with Sammy the cat, Begged for more scraps while Mom and Dad spat.   When out in the family room there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my dog bed to see what was the […]

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Simplifying Christmas With 15 Kids

Lyette Reback
2 Dec 2014
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I know the feeling. It’s Christmas. And you want to give your kids the perfect family memory. Glowing tree, beautifully wrapped packages beneath it, matching pajamas and the sweet smell of something delicious wafting in from the kitchen. But the WORK! The sheer prospect of decorating, shopping, wrapping, and cooking up all this perfection is mind-boggling. Come mid-October many of us are already dreading the Christmas card chaos and by Thanksgiving panic is approaching. Stop. Breathe. Let me share with you some ways I have simplified the holiday to make the meaning of the season remain the reason. As a […]

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